Events

Sustainable Food Production: How Can Robotic Vision Help?

9:30 am, 23 JUNE 2017

Brisbane, Australia

Sue Keay

The Australian Centre for Robotic Vision is seeking industry collaborators to help develop and commercialise robotic vision solutions for inspection of agricultural food products.

OVERVIEW

How can robotic vision unlock value for different food crops and increase yield, optimise quality and reduce costs of production and processing?

The Australian Centre for Robotic Vision is seeking industry collaborators who specialise in robotics, vision, automation and/or sensing to partner to develop robotic vision solutions for the food production inspection.

We are keen to connect with companies that are already working with food producers and food processors to help maximise yield, optimise quality and reduce associated costs by automating and applying visual inspection to food production and processing.

While many companies broadly operate in the automation/robotics/sensing/vision space, supporting a range of sectors, the robotics and vision industries in Australia remain poorly defined. This challenge aims to identify robotic &/or vision companies that support the manufacturing sector. We invite you to work with the Centre to develop a robotic vision road map for Australia and raise awareness of the important economic benefits of the industry to Australia.

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY TO BE INVOLVED?

This is an opportunity to partner with Australia’s first national centre for robotic vision, to raise the profile of the industry and, potentially, to partner on robotic vision solutions for the manufacturing sector.

The Centre will run an engagement session/s with Applicants to explore the challenge of applying robotic vision in solving challenges in the manufacturing sector. The outcome of this session will be to explore opportunities for collaboration, to identify areas of overlapping interests amongst applicants and as the first steps in the creation of a robotic vision roadmap for Australia (due for completion in late 2017).

The session will be held in Brisbane on 23rd June 2017, further details will be provided to Applicants.

The Centre is particularly keen to seek involvement from all companies in Australia broadly operating in the robotics, computer vision, automation and sensing space as well as manufacturers of robotics, vision and sensing equipment, tech companies and industry bodies.

‘The food industry is integral to Australia’s economic and social prosperity. It consistently accounts for around 20 per cent of domestic manufacturing sales and service income. Australia also has a reputation internationally as a modern, safe, reliable and sustainable producer of food.

With a world population projected to reach almost 9 billion by 2050, sustainability and food security worldwide are significant challenges. Australia, in particular, faces a real challenge to ensure its participation in food production is both competitive and sustainable.

Robotic vision technologies can help enhance agricultural productivity and achieve sustainable production of food with less land and lower inputs, making a significant contribution to the Australian economy. However, companies operating in the robotics, automation, sensing and vision space are fragmented and not easily identifiable as significant contributors to the Australian economy. This challenge goes some way to addressing this issue by seeking to identify companies broadly in the robotic vision area and to open the way to explore opportunities for collaboration with the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

WHAT WILL COLLABORATION ACHIEVE?

Improved quality control – current methods are subjective and require experience and knowledge to inspect thoroughly, quickly and effectively

Reduced labour cost – training is time consuming and churn rates are high

Health and safety and error reduction – Increased accuracy

Supply chain optimisation – what can be adjusted, removed or inserted into the supply chain to make it more efficient and effective?